There
could be a lot of empty seats at Saturday'sNew Mexico Bowlfootball
game.

The game is supposed to bring fans of both teams to Albuquerque,
but apparently people from Arizona and Nevada don't have a ton
of interest. This will be the seventh New Mexico Bowl. The smallest crowd was
about 25,000 five years ago.

This year's crowd could be a lot smaller. Nevada had to buy 10,000
tickets. They say they may only use about a thousand of those, and that is
after giving tickets away to New
Mexico military families.

Their opponent Saturday,
the University of
Arizona, is on the hook
for 5,000 tickets but has only sold about a thousand of them.

New Mexico
Senate Republicans have voted to keep Stuart Ingle of Portales as their
minority floor leader.

They voted during a meeting Thursday in Santa Fe to retain their
current leaders as they prepare for the Legislature's 60-day session to begin
in January. Ingle has held the top GOP post for more than a decade. He took
office in 1985 and also served as minority whip and minority caucus chair.

Senate
Whip William Payne of Albuquerque
will continue to serve as caucus whip, a position he has held since 2008, and
Sen. Steven Neville of Aztec will continue as caucus chairman. Ingle says it's
going to be an interesting time in the Legislature and that the minority
leaders plan to work across the aisle for the good of the state.

New Mexico State University Interim President
Manuel Pacheco Thursday accepted a letter of retirement from Dona Ana Community
College President Margie Huerta.

Her retirement is effective January 31, 2014.

DonaAnaCommunity College is the fourth
largest higher education institution in New
Mexico. Since 2004, when Huerta was named president
of DACC, it has become one of the fastest growing community colleges in the
nation.

Under her leadership, enrollment increased by more than 50 percent from
6,083 students to more than 9,800 in 2011. The college also added satellite
campuses in Gadsden,
Chaparral, Hatch and the DACC East Mesa campus.

“I consider it an honor and a privilege to have represented the people of New Mexico in the Senate for the last 30 years. I thank the people of my state for their confidence in electing me and supporting me during the time I have served here. I thank the very capable and committed men and women who have worked on my staff both in Washington and in New Mexico during these 30 years.

“And I thank all my colleagues here in the Senate for their friendship and help to me during this period.

“Of course I thank my wife, Anne and our son John and his wife Marlene for their support that allowed me to serve in the Senate.

“To all my friends and colleagues who will be here in the next Congress and in future Congresses, I hope you can find the common ground necessary for our country to effectively move forward and meet its challenges. The endeavor is a worthy one and I wish you every success.”

U.S. Border Patrol agents will no
longer serve as interpreters when local law enforcement agencies ask for
language help.

The new decree issued by Homeland Security says agents should
refer any such request to a private service if it's solely for interpretation.

Immigration
advocates in Washington
state say Border Patrol agents who often interpret during traffic stops or
other minor local law calls eventually end up asking immigration questions and
in some cases arresting immigrants suspected of being in the country illegally.
The use of interpretation is one of several contentious practices immigrant
advocates have fought against in Washington
since the Border Patrol agency expanded the number of agents in the state.

If one state senator gets his way, customers at restaurants,
bars or sporting events would be able to buy a drink on Sunday mornings.

Republican
John Ryan says he will pre-file the legislation shortly. He
wants it to be debated during the first few weeks of the upcoming legislative
session.

Specifically, the bill would allow establishments to start pouring
hard drinks, beer or wine at ten a.m. instead of waiting until noon. He also points out New Mexico ski resorts might be able to
retain more folks hitting the slopes. Neighboring Colorado routinely allows Sunday morning
alcohol sales.

If passed, the law wouldn't apply to liquor or grocery store
sales. Anti-DWI groups like MADD aren't yet taking a position on the
legislation.